The Anar Directorate
The Anar Directorate is Bevillia's nation in NC Spacebattles III. Cit Anar is located on the planet "Wol-Anar" in the Anar System, approximately eighteen light years from Earth. History The Anar Directorate is the result of a joint project between a number of universities and technical colleges from across Eurasia. Disenchanted by the state of Earth, they recruited graduates and students alike in a bid to settle somewhere else - a place where the intelligent would lead, and the mistakes of fools would not doom another planet. With the finest minds they could gather working together on the project, it progressed rapidly and without any major delays, launching slightly ahead of schedule. During the three-and-a-half year transit, the crew were not idle, and refinements by the dozen were designed for the colony infrastructure, and idle minds drafted and discarded multiple methods of government. Eventually, the ship arrived at the newly-christened Anar system. As well as the Earth-like planet within the star's habitable zone, there was also two other rocky planets just outside it, and a large gas giant near the outer edge of the system. Between the third rocky planet and the gas giant lays an asteroid belt. The outer rocky planet has it's own ice-covered moon, and the gas giant has a trio of larger satellites and a handful of smaller ones, likely trapped asteroids. Wol Anar itself was very similar to Earth. It was made of two continental landmasses, and had a surface area of around 60% water. Ice caps were present at both poles, though somewhat smaller than Earth's at the start of the 21st century. The atmosphere was around 75% Nitrogen and 23% Oxygen, though it had a larger amount of CO2 than Earth. The planet had few signs of tectonic activity, and both above and below sea level was rather flat. Most of the planet was made up of savannah-like plains, though there was some forested area around the sparse mountains. Some tundra is present near the northern pole, though significantly less than Earth. The Colony Ship was placed into an orbit above the eastern coast of the larger continent, and below it a colony was established. Pre-fabricated buildings and infrastructure made short work of the initial setup, and soon the colony of Cit Anar was established. During the construction, the Colony Ship itself was dismantled, though a section of it was repurposed as the basics of an orbital infrastructure. In time, this would be expanded to a full spaceport, but it meant there was a bare-bones space station present from day one. On the surface, long-prepared plans were executed without delay. Large-scale hydroponics farms were erected, growing a variety of plants that had been genetically modified for rapid growth and hardiness. The entire world would be entirely vegetarian for several decades before native animals could be reared in large enough quantities for meat farming. Hundreds of aerial drones were manufactured, equipped with a sophisticated suite of surveying sensors, and sent to explore the surface of the planet. Where easily-accessible deposits of metal were found, secondary teams would deploy and begin extraction. As resources began to flow into the colony, Cit Anar was transformed from a hive of pre-fab housing and offices into a true city. The restriction on children, established at the launch of the Colony Ship, was relaxed, and the first pregnancies of the new world were announced. Over the next decade, Cit Anar was expanded multiple times. The warm climate and general resource surplus led to a quality of life that would have been considered upper-class on Earth, and it showed. A highly socialist state was developed to manage the resources and provide for everyone, but private enterprise still developed. The first Genetic Modification clinic opened on the tenth anniversary of planetfall, with a handful of other ones following soon. Cybernetic Modification, which had been present even on Earth, boomed to the point where there were more people with modifications than not. Two of the most common ones was a bionic eye that serves to create AR, but was indistinguishable from a normal eye (unless the user requested otherwise), and a spinal 'plug', that allows for direct VR to be streamed straight-to-brain. With VR becoming a greater and greater focus of the nation as the colony developed, a proposal was created and passed for a state-administered VR complex. Built underneath Cit Anar, the large complex housed massive cutting-edge computing arrays designed to host the VR systems of millions at once. Virtual Reality was already a massive factor in education, research and development, society, and entertainment, and the investment ensured that it would stay that way for the foreseeable future. Twelve years after planetfall, the second 'civilian' settlement, Cit Nova, was founded on the smaller continent. Initially designed to serve as a central hub for the resource extraction on that continent, it quickly grew like the capital. It was followed by a series of other settlements across both continents over the next forty years. Cit Nova would eventually grow to house the largest launchpad on the planet's surface. The Orbital Spaceport had relatively little expansion for the first decade after planetfall, with the majority of the industrial capacity of the planet serving to expand resource gathering and development of Cit Anar. However, with the development of Cit Nova, and the new need for satellite infrastructure, resources were launched and the Spaceport, now officially named 'Spe Anar', was developed to be capable of small-scale manufacturing. Without a need for costly surface-to-orbit launches, a basic network of geosynchronous satellites was deployed within a year. Equipped with the cutting edge in FTL communications, it multiplied the networking capabilities of the Directorate almost overnight. Over the next decades, it would slowly expand itself into a full Spaceport, capable of producing manned ships. Government and Education The Directorate is governed by a Weighted Direct Democracy. Every decision of government is the product of a vote amongst those it directly affects (A local town vote would only be voted on by that town, while a global one would have a much larger voting population). It is not required for a person to vote, but the fact that almost every citizen has cybernetic implants means voting is practically effortless. The weighting comes from the Technocratic aspects of the Directorate, where every citizen gets a vote based on the level of the qualifications they have achieved. The lowest 'tier' of qualification that grants a vote is the equivalent of a bachelors degree, with the subsequent levels of qualification granting more votes. There is no age limitation to voting, so theoretically a person young enough to count as a child by other national standards could be able to vote. Being able to vote is also the qualification for full self-determination -adulthood in other societies- with all that entails. However, all qualifications that qualify for voting do have a 'civil' component, meaning anyone who qualifies as an adult knows at least the basics of how to live as one. Education at every level is state-funded in it's entirety for citizens, without a limit to age or existing qualifications (barring the ones required for the advanced courses). All courses are standardised by the state, meaning that a citizen could theoretically take every module at a different location and receive the same quality of education as one who completed it all in one location. The entire curriculum, from the very basics to the most advanced courses, is module-based, and a centralised database of lessons and lectures on every module means every person can learn what they want, at whatever pace they want. While a small number of 'Schools' do exist as distinct buildings, most education is done through VR. Superluminal connection and bionic augmentations mean real-time classes can be conducted between people across the planet, or even in orbit. Anyone who can vote can propose a vote on any topic. They must then gather at least 1% of the votes required for it to pass as a petition. If they do it is added to the voting list for anyone eligible to vote (as set out in the petition), and voting can commence. The length of the voting period is determined by the number of votes required for it to pass, and is usually between a week and a month, though the largest votes can have longer voting periods. During the proposal period, people can flag a proposal as 'overly complicated' if the language used within the vote is unclear as to the results of the vote. If the vote achieves more flags than votes during this stage, it fails pending revision. During this period, the voters can change their vote as often as they like. An anonymised display of the current vote is available to everyone during this time. While not legally enforced, it is considered bad form to stubbornly stay with a position in light of overwhelming evidence against it, so the percentages do often change by significant amounts during this time. At the end of this period, the voting is closed, and the votes are tallied against the percentages required for that vote to pass. There are several types of vote, depending on the magnitude of the vote. The lowest tier is a simple majority vote, where whichever choice gets more votes wins and non-voters are ignored. That is the most common for small-scale decisions, though is rare at the higher levels of voting. Then there is the grand majority vote, where a choice wins if it achieves greater than half of the votes, cast or not. While it is possible for neither choice of a binary vote to win with these, the fact that most voting has a >90% participation makes that a non-issue for most votes. The highest tier of voting is the supermajority, where a choice wins if it achieves at least 70% of the total vote. It is not uncommon to see these votes result in neither choice winning, but since the supermajority is the go to vote for long term nation-affecting decisions that is considered an acceptable trade-off. The minimum vote that is required for a proposal to pass is set out in the 'Articles of Establishment' (Basically the constitution of the colony, setting out the rules and regulations for voting). A general guide is that votes that affect less than ten thousand people are Simple Majority, most of the other ones are Grand Majority, and anything that would change 'the constitution' is a supermajority. In votes where it is not a binary choice, a single transferable vote is used. This can only be used for the lower and mid-tiers of voting, a supermajority must be achieved through a 'yes/no' proposal. Society and Ethics Anar society is a complex one. Culturally, there is representation from most of Earth's people. The colonists were recruited from the finest students of universities across Eurasia, with no regard to their social or cultural background beyond what was necessary to ensure there wouldn't be issues during the journey. Then, there were several decades of coexistence without the cultural anchors of old Earth. While every person has their own opinions, there are several common themes that exist within the Directorate; - There is a general attitude of intellectual elitism. Since the value of your opinions is literally linked to the level of your education, there is a justified smugness to being among the best, especially since achieving that is something that is almost completely caused by your own work. - The populace is heavily socialist, but has strong themes that could be argued as capitalist. A common saying is 'Everyone gets the same start, it is up to them to make the most of it'. Education and Child Benefits are sacrosanct, but debates continue about the extent that adults should be supported. - Self-Determination is a major theme. Another common saying is 'As long as everyone affected consents'. Proof of prior consent for all involved goes a long way towards making things legal. The only major crimes are those that infringe on the self-determination of others. - Religion is generally looked down upon. While it is up to people whether or not they practice privately, talking about it positively in public is a fast way to being considered a fool. - AI is a divided issue. While robotics and 'Dumb AI' are common and accepted, the rights of the 'Smart AI' are contested, with neither side of the debate being able to get the supermajority (70%) needed to create a law detailing the rights. The fact that 'Smart AI' have massive advantages over humans in every field that matters in government means large portions of the populace are wary. The official language of the Anar is Actuak, a constructed language made popular amongst academics in the 22nd century because of it's focus on efficiency. English, Mandarin, German, and Russian are all common languages within the populace, with a pidgin of the four being a almost a secondary amongst the younger generations. Most of those born since the planetfall speak Actuak, the Pidgin, and at least two of the four languages. Virtual Reality is ubiquitous among the Anar. Aside from the children, who are regulated by law as to how long they can spend in VR each day, and a small number of adults, most citizens will spend a majority of their waking hours inside the virtual world. Outside of resource extraction and manufacturing, most jobs are 'online', as virtual office space is a lot more flexible than physical offices. A result of this is that private vehicles are almost non-existent due to lack of interest. Automated buses travel the cities for those who want or need to travel, and inter-city transports fly multiple times per day, but cars are almost entirely owned by the state (the emergency services have a number of vehicles, for example) or are company-owned. However, in an almost counter-intuitive leap of logic, personal fitness is also prized. Of course, the fact that a lot of the biological and cybernetic enhancements require a basic level of fitness could have a lot to do with it, but State regulation in regards to the nutritional content of food (a relic of the limited supply of food in the early days of the colony, but one willingly kept after several decades showed it's effectiveness) and a series of campaigns that ran in response to the growing popularity of VR caused fitness to become a part of most people's daily routine. The growing popularity of 'VR Gyms', where a limited application of VR allows the users to exercise in an environment of their choosing, mean it continues to maintain popularity even among the younger generations. Geography The Anar System is the only currently held system within Anar Space. It has four planets, and an asteroid belt. Currently the only assets controlled by the Directorate are on the surface of, or orbiting, Wol-Anar, the capital world of the Directorate. Sol-Anar: Sol-Anar, the star at the heart of the Anar System. At an estimated age of around 4 billion years, it is slightly younger than Sol. It is a relatively unexciting G-class star. Slightly larger than Sol, with the equivalent increase in mass. Mainly Hydrogen, with Helium and trace amounts of other elements. It is of similar brightness to Sol (~-27 Apparent Magnitude at 1AU). It's habitable zone is centred around 1.41AU. Anar-1: Anar-1 is a rocky planet around the size of Mars. It has a gravity of around 0.72G. It orbits Sol-Anar at 0.98AU, and has an average surface temperature of 54°c. It's atmosphere is mainly nitrogen (~98%), though it has large amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere (~2%). It has a day of around 18 Earth hours, and a year of 274 Earth days. Basic scans have given it a large iron content. Anar-1 has no moons. Wol-Anar (Anar-2): Wol Anar is an Earthlike planet, with a surface area around 60% water. It is slightly larger than earth, though a slightly lower density gives it a gravity of around 1.1G. It orbits Sol-Anar at 1.23AU, and has an average surface temperature of 22°c. It's atmosphere is around 75% Nitrogen and 23% Oxygen, though it had a larger amount of CO2 than Earth. It has a day of 26 Earth hours, and a year of just over 330 Earth days. Advanced scans give it a high composition of Iron and Silicon, with Aluminium, Titanium, and Silver in abundance. Anar-2.1 is the first moon of Wol Anar. It is a rocky moon around two-thirds the size of Earth's moon. It has a gravity of around 0.11G. It orbits Wol Anar at 380,000km. It has no atmosphere. It has a day of 390 Earth hours, and orbits Wol Anar every 580 Earth hours. Basic scans have given it a large silicon content. Anar-2.2 is the second moon of Wol Anar. It is a rocky moon around two-thirds the size of Earth's moon. It has a gravity of around 0.12G. It orbits Wol Anar at 414,000km. It has no atmosphere. It has a day of 267 Earth hours, and orbits Wol Anar every 602 Earth hours. Basic scans have given it a large silicon content. Anar-3: Anar-3 is a rocky planet around the size of Earth. It has a gravity of 0.96G. It orbits Sol-Anar at 1.63AU, and has an average surface temperature of -83°c. It's atmosphere is mainly CO2(~92%), with a mixture of gases making up the rest. It has a day of around 28 Earth hours, and a year of just under 821 Earth days. Basic scans have given it a large nickel content. Anar-3.1 is the only moon of Anar-3. It is an ice moon around the size of Europa. It has a gravity of around 0.13G. It orbits Anar-3 at 402,000km. It has no atmosphere. It has a day of 15 Earth hours, and orbits Anar-3 every 45 Earth hours. Basic scans have given it a large water content. The Anar Belt: The Anar belt is an asteroid belt centred at 2.43AU. It consists of a large number of rocky asteroids, with a smaller number of ice asteroids. There are no particularly large asteroids within the belt. Anar-4: Anar-4 is a Gas Giant around the size of Saturn. It has a surface gravity of around 1.1G. It orbits Sol-Anar at 6.12AU, and has an average surface temperature of -115°c. It consists mainly of Hydrogen (~95%) and Helium (~3%). It has a day of around 860 Earth hours, and a year of around 10,120 Earth days. Anar-4.1 is the first moon of Anar-4. It is a rocky moon slightly larger than Ganymede. It has a gravity of around 0.15G. It orbits Anar-4 at 503,000km. It has no atmosphere. It has a day of 89 Earth hours, and orbits Anar-4 every 117 Earth hours. Basic scans have given it a large silicon content. Anar-4.2 is the second moon of Anar-4. It is a rocky moon slightly smaller than Callisto. It has a gravity of around 0.12G. It orbits Anar-4 at 618,000km. It has no atmosphere. It has a day of 12 Earth hours, and orbits Anar-4 every 176 Earth hours. Basic scans have given it a large nickel content. Anar-4.3 is the third moon of Anar-4. It is a ice moon slightly smaller than Ganymede. It has a gravity of around 0.11G. It orbits Anar-4 at 872,000km. It has no atmosphere. It has a day of 78 Earth hours, and orbits Anar-4 every 263 Earth hours. Basic scans have given it a large water content. Additionally, there are a multitude of smaller rocky and ice satellites orbiting Anar-4. Category:NC Spacebattles 3 Nations